“We’re playing ‘name that tune.’ If you can’t get this song in three seconds, you need to leave the building.

(Plays Light My Fire by the Doors)

That song typified the rock-and-roll era of the sixties. 

I discovered Elvis and rock and roll when I was about nine. Somebody played his music on a little record player. I grew up in Russellville, Alabama, not far from here. Elvis would visit some girls there. He did three concerts here in Sheffield in 1955. Tickets were a dollar in advance, a dollar and a quarter at the show. I’ve got the newspaper ads in here. I also have a black and white photo of Elvis at the Sheffield train station. Elvis had just signed with RCA, and they were doing a photo shoot of 24 hours with Elvis; the Sheffield station was the stopover between Chattanooga and Memphis. 

There are also plenty of stories in this area about Percy Sledge and the song ‘When A Man Loves a Woman.’ I went to Florence State College in 1966, now The University of North Alabama. The first day of class, my English professor had us tell our names and what we did for the summer, just like little kids. I said, ‘I’m David. I worked on a construction job.’ The young Black man sitting next to me stood up and said, ‘I’m Calvin Lewis. I wrote a number one song.’ He wrote ‘When A Man Loves a Woman’–the number-one song for most of the summer.  No one could top that. 

I became a teacher, a school principal, a superintendent, and later a stockbroker. But my parents had an antique store, and I sold old records there. It grew into Muscle Shoals Record Shop. I like old records, books, and magazines. People tell me I’m more of a collector than a seller. This store is a box of memories–sometimes those memories make you feel so good, sometimes they make you feel so sad. Listening to albums is entertainment, like a Saturday afternoon football game. People enjoy the heck out of it. 

I keep a collection of albums recorded in the Muscle Shoals area. The people who came here were incredible. Bob Seger fell in love with this area. He’s our hero. Don Henley never recorded here but came to play backup for his friends. I was surprised when names like Paul Simon and Peter, Paul & Mary started coming to Muscle Shoals. It sure was fun. The credit for all of this goes to Rick Hall. He was just a country guy who could write a country song and play a little bit. Muscle Shoals was gravel roads when Rick built Fame Studios. Recording slowed down for a time, and Rick could have left Muscle Shoals for Nashville. But he stayed until the day he died. All of that music wouldn’t have been made here without him. 

Telling stories of the music made in Muscle Shoals is part of running this record shop. I want to keep the history alive and help people experience something new. 

Here’s your last question to see how well you know the South: what does high cotton mean? Life is good. The cotton is high, so you don’t have to bend over to pick it. I hope you are living in high cotton and your life is going well.”

David